The Last Dragon
by ChristineS23
Summary: Christi has been running her entire life, only she is just now realizing where she's been running to- Fairy Tail. It is the only place where she can feel like she belongs. The only problem is someone is looking for her and she can't tell anyone who he is or why he wants her. If Natsu and the other find out who she really is will she lose the only family shes ever known?
1. Chapter 1: Hope

The sun was barely peaking out from edge of the horizon, casting small streams of golden hues that seeped into the cloudless deep blue sky. The shape of a girl was outlined by the light as she walked away from the sunrise. The rays seemed to shy away from her as if she were a magnet repelling the beautiful glow as she walked closer towards her destination, a large building that stood a small walk away from the closest city.

Her pale blonde hair shone as it flew behind her in her hasty walk. Her eyes were narrowed, trying to decipher the words on the building that was still too far away for her to get a clear look at. She was trying to read it, but she didn't really need to. She knew this was the place. This was where she had been traveling towards almost all of her life, though she hadn't even known it most of the time.

The closer she got to the building, the tighter her chest became. Her heart rate sped up, her skin turned clammy, and she began to gnaw on her lip from the nerves. What if they know? She thought fearfully, almost turning around from the implications of them knowing would mean, but she felt a pressure in her mind, urging her forward.

Go, the voice urged her. This is where you belong. This is where you will finally fit in.

She wanted to let the voice comfort her, but before she could sink into Jett's words, a sound disrupted her thoughts. It was a loud, joyful laugh. She stopped in her tracks. Her feet seemed to be glued to the ground as blood drained from her face. A smell had invaded her senses, a new smell, yet there was a twinge of familiarity in it. It was a very nice smell; a deep woody scent that smelled vaguely burnt, like incense.

Its him, Jett. She threw her thoughts back at him. I can smell him so clearly, what if he can smell the same?

She didn't know whether to be excited or terrified. On one hand this was the guy she had originally heard about and realized she needed to meet. He was the whole reason she discovered this place. On the other, if he found out who she was, if he could smell her, he would most likely kill her. She could feel Jett's frustration through the link. He wanted to be here with her, to guide and help and reassure her, but there were multiple reasons he couldn't. The one they both agreed upon, though, was that he had to canvas the area and make sure there was no trace of him anywhere nearby or traces of anyone else who wielded the dark magic. She had her own reasons for wanting Jett to not be there on her first introduction with the guild, though. One being that Exceeds drew unwanted attention, and two being that Jet was the most protective Exceed in existence and he would not allow her to go to the lengths she needed to talk to the dragon slayers.

He won't. Don't forget what your purpose was in the first place.

She cringed away from his words and immediately withdrew from their link. She didn't want to be reminded of that, especially so close to the guild. She was terrified that they would be able to hear her despicable thoughts of why she existed in the first place just because she was thinking them. They would never trust her. They would probably kill her on sight.

"Hey!" A voice shouted at her and her blush deepened. It was him. Calling to her.

Wild rosy hair ruffled in the wind as a large smile was painted over the mans face. She could see his prominent canine teeth even from the distance, and she could smell the burning wood smell even clearer now. His skin seemed to glow, as if a fire burned beneath his skin, which she wouldn't doubt.

She turned her head over her shoulder swiftly, hoping there was someone behind her that he was trying to talk to. Nope. Just her.

"Hi!" She called back, and forced her feet to move forwards, back on its trek to the place she had been dreaming about for months, Fairy Tail.

The man she knew to be Natsu smiled welcomingly as she walked up to him. He shoved his hand out as soon as she was in front of him.

"I'm Natsu." His grin was infatuating and completely contagious. He looked as though he was enjoying every breath he took.

"Christi," She replied, taking his hand nervously. The heat from his hand was immediately noticeable, though it didn't burn. It was as if she were touching sand that the sun had been beating down on for hours, warm yet comforting.

His face screwed up for a brief moment as she saw him inhale. She froze. This was it. He would smell her, he would know and he would probably kill her.

"Nice to meet you, Christi!" He replied enthusiastically, though his face was still slightly scrunched up and his eyes seemed to be looking past her.

"You too," she rubbed her hand behind her neck anxiously, hoping he would give up on trying to pinpoint her scent because she could clearly see that was what he was trying to do. "Is Master Makarov here?"

Natsu refocused his eyes on her, "Yeah... You thinking of joining this amazing guild?" He seemed to forget about his previous frustration and gave another toothy grin. She realized her stress was starting to evaporate the longer she stood in front of him. He seemed to be the friendliest guy on the planet, yet from what she had heard from the stories of him, this was not always the case. She could not imagine him being the guy who had defeated so many dark wizards, the guy who terrified people to their core.

Christi nodded shyly, not wanting him to question her about her magic.

"Awesome!" He shouted and grabbed her wrist excitedly and pulled her through the doors of Fairy Tail without another thought.

As soon as she stepped foot inside she could smell the difference between being outside and in the building. The trust and friendship was palpable. All sorts of different people, with all sorts of different features, were scattered throughout. Some were sprawled out on the benches and tables, some sat at the bar, a few people stood in front of a giant board that had different sheets of papers pinned to it, and some people seemed to just be aimlessly walking around. Whatever they were doing, though, they all seemed comfortable and happy. Like they were a family.

"Natsu! Where have you been!" A voice shouted. Suddenly a figure was standing right in front of Christi and Natsu. A girl with bright red hair that framed her face like a raging flame stood there, her narrow features drawn into a snarl. "You are late." She stated simply, though her eyes shone with ferocity.

Christi knew this girl, "Erza," she said in awe, completely transfixed by the utter power this girl emanated. She was terrifyingly beautiful. She had never seen Erza before, but there was no one else that could as perfectly match the descriptions she had heard.

Erza's eyes shot to Christi, not seeming to have noticed her before. Her eye brows raised as her features seemed to soften somewhat. "Yes, that is me. Who are you?" She spoked bluntly, not bothering to be overly friendly or polite.

Natsu threw his arm around Christi with another manic grin. "Jeez, Erza, will you chill in front of the new recruit! You're gonna scare her." He gestured towards Christi with a smile, "This is Christi, she's about to go talk to Master Makarov," He wiggled his eyebrows excitedly, "About joining!"

Erza's eyes narrowed. She studied Christi closely, and suddenly Christi was frantically sifting through her memories to try and remember if Erza could read minds. If she knew who Christi was. Her eyes shot to Natsu and back to Christi again before she stated emotionlessly, "Good luck. He's upstairs. You," She shoved her finger at Natsu, "have some explaining to do. Grey! Will you show Christi here to Makarov while I talk to Natsu?"

A man lifted his head up from the tables and gazed lazily over at them. His black hair was falling down in front of his face messily and, Christi noticed with a blush, he was only wearing long boxers. His muscle lines were incredibly defined, but she forced herself to look away before her gaze could travel down his shoulders and to his torso.

"No." The man, Grey, shouted back before shoving his head back on to the table.

Erza's face darkened dangerously. "Grey." She snarled, her voice dangerously calm, though obviously threatening. Grey shot up immediately and, with an air of dissatisfaction, walked over to them.

Natsu groaned. "Put some clothes on, you perv."

"Why?" Grey snapped back with a sneer, "Scared your little friend is going to be more impressed by me?" He flexed his arms mockingly to Natsu, who lifted his lip in a snarl.

"There's no way anyone would be more impressed by you!"

Grey's face flushed, "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Natsu lunged to Grey, his fist suddenly aflame as he struck Grey's jaw. Grey stumbled back and brought his hands up in front of him as he shouted off a spell and ice erupted from his palms, striking Natsu in the stomach with the icicle before they both disappeared in a whirl of ice and flames.

Erza looked at her for a moment as annoyance marred her face. She took a deep breath before shouting over her shoulder, "Mira! Will you show Christi here to Makarov? I'm going to kill Grey and Natsu."

The mass that was Grey and Natsu froze. Erza's eyes darkened and annoyance seemed to radiant off of her. Christ stepped back fearfully as she suddenly began to glow. One moment she was in a normal steel armor top with a blue skirt, and the next she was in full on battle armor.

"I'm sorry-"

"Erza wait-"

Before Christi could see Erza make a move on them a gentle hand pressed into her shoulder. "Ignore them, they're always this rowdy. It's how they show that they love each other."

Christi looked up to the voice and saw a beautiful woman with snow white hair that flowed to her shoulders and the kindest eyes she had ever seen.

"I'm Mira." Her pearly teeth shined from her smile as she leaned in to hug her. Christi tensed, not used to such intimate physical interaction before she returned the hug, trying to avoid being too awkward. "I can sense you're strong. I'm sure Makarov would love to have you join us, if you still want to after seeing all of this." She giggled as she looked behind Christi.

Christi peeked over her shoulder to see Erza standing over Grey and Natsu, who both appeared to be knocked out on the floor. "I'm Christi," She told Mira as she looked at the boys with worry, before smiling back at her, "And don't worry, I don't scare easily."

Mira laughed, but Christi's smile dissipated as she thought about why she didn't scare easily, and the things that truly did scare her. If these people saw the things that scared her...

Mira tugged on her hand gently, "Thats good. Follow me this way," She led her though the room towards the back of the building.

Christi ripped her eyes away from the trio and shot them to the crowd of people that were watching her and Mira curiously. She sifted through the faces with her senses completely focused, searching for two faces in particular. Two smells. She didn't know exactly what they were, but she knew as soon as she got a whiff she would recognize them as dragon slayers.

She closed her eyes as Mira led her and took a deep breath, trying to focus on her deadly lessons from the past and immediately inhaled the scent that smelled vaguely like wildflowers and a hint of something else. Something that all dragon slayers had in common, that cloying smell of dragons that seemed to live and breathe inside of them all. The smell that was impossible to forget.

She focused in on the smell and saw a young girl with long dark blue hair talking to a white Exceed. Both seemed interested in the conversation as their eyes flitted to Christi then back to each other, as if she were the topic of their discussion.

Do they know? She found herself worrying again, before she was distracted by another smell.

The next smell was much more distinct, Christi didn't exactly know what steel smelt like from personal experience, but it resembled a coppery, metallic scent and she knew exactly who the scent belonged to. Her eyes shot to the last dragon slayer in Fairy Tail, Gajeel. His tanned skin and long black hair were noticeable enough, but they would have been harder to find if it weren't for the fact she could trace his metallic dragon slayer scent to the exact place. She found herself opening her mental link with Jett back up to excitedly whisper, I found Gajeel and Wendy and Natsu! And Grey and Erza! And Mira is walking me to Makarov right now! I'm so nervous! But I'm so excited!

She could feel Jett's anxiety wash away as their link was reconnected. I'm excited for you. I wish I was there, but Christi, you cant just block me out because I frustrate you. How can I make sure you're safe if you're pushing me out?

Christi felt a pang of guilt and was about to apologize before the back of the figure she knew to be Gajeel turned around. Her body froze. His cold eyes seemed to drill through her, causing her whole body to shrink away. He sniffed the air and Christi's blood went cold.

He knows. He knows, Jett!

Calm down, he doesn't know. Because he cant know. Because you don't give off that scent. Don't stress yourself out for no reason. Jett's wise thoughts helped soothe her. He was right, of course, but it was hard to believe him under the intense scrutiny of Gajeel's glare.

After she let herself relax and break eye contact with him, Christi gasped as her gaze drifted from his cold eyes and onto the rest of his face, where small dots of iron trailed down his nose and over his brows.

Jett! Gajeel has iron on his face! His features! They match his magic! Christi could barely contain her excitement, which was clear to those around her as Gajeel and Mira's eyes focused in on her curiously.

"Are you okay?" Mira replied, following her gaze to Gajeel's intense stare. She bit her lip, "Oh, don't mind Gajeel, he looks scary but he's really a softy."

Gajeel scrunched his eyebrows up, easily being able to hear them though they were across the room. "Am not!" he shouted back then with a huff he turned his back to them to go back to chewing on what Christi could now see was an iron rod.

"Sorry," Christi replied, not meaning to insinuate she thought Gajeel was scaring her or anything, just that she was surprised to see that he carried bits of iron inside of him, that his features were physically altered by being a dragon slayer.

"It's okay! Here we are!" Mira waved her hand out, motioning for Christi to step up the stairs in front of them. "I believe the Master has already been made aware that you're here."

"Okay." Christi nodded slowly but did not move from her spot. The old nerves seemed to be crawling back from inside her and planting her to the ground again. He was the last obstacle. The last one to see her for what she truly was. He was the last person that would keep her from belonging to a family for once in her life, despite what she was.

She took a deep breath.

He's going to love you, Jett told her reassuringly, and if he doesn't I'm going to kill him.


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions

Christi was expecting a professional looking office, but instead she walked into a room with dark wooden walls and wooden paneled flooring. The room was almost completely bare besides the large mahogany desk with a comfortable looking tan chair in front of it. A large window took up the entire wall on the north side of his office, and bookshelves that were embedded into the east wall. It was very simple, yet relaxing nonetheless.

"Hello." Master Makarov stood in front of her, his hands clasped behind his back, studying her with a straight face. If she had any less control over her emotions she would've gasped. He was very short, around the height of her hip, and he had greying skin with patches of white hair atop his head. She had heard terrifying stories of Makarov's power, so without really taking the time to paint a picture of him she just assumed he would be large and intimidating.

Christi threw her neck forward in a hasty bow. "Hi!" She shouted nervously. "Thank you for meeting with me!"

Makarov grunted, "It's no problem. Come," he motioned towards the cushioned chair in front of his desk. "Sit."

"Yes, sir," Christi stumbled to the chair and sat in it, nervously shoving her hands under her thighs to keep them from shaking or from using them too much.

Makarov watched her as he walked around to the other side of the desk and took a seat. The chair must have been altered specifically for him because in it he looked much taller, in fact, he looked down on Christi.

They sat in silence as they watched each other. Christi chewed her lip anxiously, wondering if she was supposed to say something to him or if she was supposed to sit and wait for him to speak first. His eyes seemed to dig deep into her mind. She squirmed uncomfortably under his scrutiny. She wished he would stop staring at her like that and just say something.

Minutes continued to pass. Christi shifted in her seat. When she couldn't bare to sit in silence any longer she announced, "I'm Christi!"

"I know." He replied shortly, seemingly indicating that the conversation was stopping there.

Christi clenched her teeth and forced herself to deal with the silence.

"Okay…" Makarov said finally. Christi's whole body seemed to slouch as soon as she heard his voice. She had thought she was going to pass out from the anticipation. "I can sense that you are strong, I feel the magic power radiating off of you, but being a member of Fairy Tail is about more than just strength. Why do you want to join?"

Christi took a deep, calming breath. This was one question she could answer easily because she had no hidden motives, no underlying lies that couldn't be shared, and had nothing to do with her past.

"I have heard so much about wizard guilds and how they help people, and I want to help people, too. I want to be a beacon of hope like your members are now. But, it's more than that. Your members are more than just heroes, you're a family. You guys love each other so much and you would all die for each other without a second thought. I have never had a family, and I want one. I want to be apart of this family." Christi swallowed after her small speech, her nerves reigniting inside of her. She wished he would just accept her already.

He stared at her with a friendly smile and said, "Wow," after a beat the edges of his smile turned downwards sympathetically. "I am very sorry that you did not have a family before, I do not wish to delve too deeply into your personal life, but are they passed?"

Christi's blood turned cold. She tried not to let her subconscious return to the time in her life when she had a family, because those memories were too painful. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably as the anxiety crept into her and clenched in her chest painfully. She felt the sting of tears that were threatening to flow without her pain must have been evident on her face because Makarov asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry." She blushed, embarrassed from her reaction. "Yes, my parents are passed," she cleared her throat before it could clog with more tears. "I'm sorry, talking about them… it brings up memories I would rather not remember." She shivered.

"That's alright. I'm sorry for prying. You are not alone here, most of the kids who have grown up here have had rough childhoods as well. You'll fit in perfectly."

Christi's ears perked. "Wait- fit in? Like, am I in?"

Makarov smiled, "Well, I still have a few more questions, but yes, I believe you're going to be a perfect fit."

A grin exploded onto her face. The joy his words elicited seemed to cause her to completely forget the memories that were threatening to ruin her. She tried, and failed, to quench her squeal. "Yay!"

"Yes, yes," he nodded and waved his hand through the air. "It's all very exciting, but let me finish my questions so we can properly introduce you to everyone."

Christi nodded quickly, prepared for any questions. Now that he knew her weak spot she was sure he wouldn't ask about her childhood again, and she could answer anything else.

"What type of magic do you use?"

Christi froze. She squeezed her hands underneath the table before leaning backwards casually, trying to play off her first reaction. She knew he was going to ask this. She shouldn't be surprised, and she wasn't. She had just hoped that maybe he would forget to ask.

"Light magic." She said through her teeth. She wasn't lying… technically. She _could_ use light magic, it just wasn't _her_ magic. The light magic she used was very weak, like a child's, but it was the only magic she would let herself use.

Makarov narrowed his eyes, easily picking up on her hesitance. She was worried he was going to question her further, maybe even ask her to prove it, but he just shrugged and let his smile return. "We don't have any light wizards, so that's very exciting."

She didn't trust herself to respond, so she sat quietly and nodded, waiting for him to ask his next question.

"So, this is a very rowdy guild, as I'm sure you have noticed, but you have only seen a very small portion of it. We, as a family, have been through a lot and we accept each other without question, are you willing to do this? Are you willing to commit to being a real member of this family?"

She straightened and began nodding her head frantically, "Yes! Yes, I swear it!"

"Good," he smiled, then his face darkened terribly, shadowing his features in an expression that frightened Christi to her core. His whole body seemed to rise until he stood above her, looking down at her. "And just know, our family does not tolerate traitors or those who wish to harm us. Once you're apart of us, that protection is offered to you as well, but if you were to betray us…" He trailed off, though his meaning was painstakingly clear.

Christi gulped. She couldn't help the terrible thoughts of her possibly betraying them that swirled through her mind. Was the fact that she was keeping so many secrets that could prove deadly to them an act of betrayal? What would they do to her if they found out? Christi could barely take a deep breath, her entire body was frozen in fear, of him and of what may happen if they were to find out about her.

 _Don't let him see you so upset by his words, it's suspicious._ Jett's voice whispered into her mind.

She took a deep breath, and watched calmly as Makarov returned to his normal size and his happy exterior returned. "Alright! Now that's settled!" He stood from his chair, immediately disappearing from her vision as the he plopped down behind the large desk. He walked out from behind it and reached for her hand as if he hadn't just changed his personality completely. "Let's go meet everyone."

—

Christi stood in the front of the room, unable to push down the intense blush that was staining her entire face. Everyone was staring at her, all friendly eyes, but still they dug into her, seemingly trying to pry her thoughts out of her, pry any information out of her.

Makarov was standing tall on the bar, "Alright everyone, this is Christi! She will be the newest member of Fairy Tail! Christi… this is everyone!"

Majarov pulled out a small metal brand and showed it to Christi, allowing her to examine it. Her skin itched as everyone watched her intently. She smiled tightly and, without thought, pulled her short sleeve up to revel her bicep. Makarov pressed the brand into her skin and she winced as it burned into her skin briefly. When he pulled it away, a magenta Fairy Tail emblem was on her arm. Cheers erupted from the audience as people began to whoop and holler from all around the room. Christi tried to summon her friendliest smile as she waved to them all. There were so many different people, all of them looked and acted differently from each other, yet they all seemed to move as a unit, completely in sync with each other.

"Woohoo!" Someone screamed. "Christi you made it! Another strong wizard," Natsu stood towards the back of the room and began punching the air threateningly. "No one can compete with Fairy Tail! We just keep getting stronger!"

Christi laughed, along with some other people in the crowd, and felt some of her anxiety drift away. Natsu made her feel so comfortable here. He made her feel like she truly belonged, and he didn't even know her. She couldn't help but imagine them growing incredibly close, her getting to know him and how he grew up, along with the other dragon slayers, and possibly even join their team. It was a dream come true.

"Okay! Now I have a few Council matters to attend to, so will someone show Christi here around?" He peered into the crowd and Christi felt her heart clench with excitement as his eyes seemed to pause on Natsu, who was grinning wildly, but he moved past him and landed on another person instead.

"Grey? Show her around?"

Christi forced herself to not show her disappointment at the guy who clearly wanted absolutely nothing to do with her.

Makarov jumped behind the bar and disappeared from view. Christi walked through the crowd, not entirely sure where she was walking to, just trying to get out of the swirl of people who were staring at her.

People were clapping her on the shoulder, telling her congratulations and welcoming her, and Christi just smiled. "Thank you. Thank you." She replied every time she heard anyone say anything. It was very overwhelming. The bodies seemed to be closing in on her, she felt her heart race quicken as she tried to navigate through the sea of people.

A man with dark black hair and an uninterested frown on his face stood right outside the cluster of people, waiting for her. "I'm Grey." His voice was as uninterested as his face.

Christi smiled, though it was not genuine. "Christi," she said sheepishly. She felt her stomach turn and had the urge to throw up. She wished there were less people around her.

Grey just nodded, "I'll show you around, I guess." He began walking somewhere farther into the guild but Christi didn't move to follow. He took a few more steps before sensing he was alone. He turned his head and with dull eyes asked, "What?"

"Do you mind if we start outside or something?" she spoke quickly, not wanting to upset him, but really not wanting to be in the crowd any longer. People kept staring at her. She wasn't very used to being around other people, she'd been torn from her own people when she was very young and she'd been a nomad ever since, really only being with Jett. She did not like it.

Grey's eyes softened slightly, "Yeah, we can, there isn't much out there, though."

"That's fine."

Grey led her outside, and she followed with her eyes trained on the floor.

Once the door closed behind her Christi felt as though a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She let out a little sigh of relief from the lack of bodies crowding her and eyes watching her. She gulped the fresh air in greedily.

"Everything okay?" Grey asked, and for a moment Christi thought she heard actual concern in his voice. She quickly swiped that thought away, telling herself there was no point in fantasizing about relationships with these people yet. It would take a long time for them to care for her like they did for each other.

"You'd think," Christi laughed bitterly. "I have been looking forward to being a part of a guild- _this guild_ \- for so long-" Her voice broke and she squeezed her eyes closed so she could not see his face. "Yet, here I am, accepted, and I'm getting _claustrophobic_ in the crowd of people who want nothing more than to meet and congratulate me! They were all smiling at me and being so friendly… And all I could think was, _holy crap I think I'm going to throw up._ And then I basically ran out. What the hell is wrong with me?" She wished she could tell him everything, just to get it off of her chest. She told him part of her problem, yet the part she could not tell him felt like a rock lodged in her throat, choking her. She was sick because she was surrounded by people who could potentially care about her, yet she knew she would never be able to fully care for them. She would always have to be on alert, always have to be hiding, she could never truly relax or be herself around them. She may even potentially be bringing them harm. How could she sit there and shake their hands and smile and laugh with them knowing all of those things? It was sadistic.

A hand touched her shoulder gently. Her eyes shot up in shock, "Hey," Grey's voice was soft as he rubbed her skin soothingly. "Don't think like that. We all know you want to be here, or else you wouldn't be. It's okay if you have a thing about being crowded… Hell," he chuckled, "I have a thing about stripping." He was grinning at her, the skin around his eyes crinkling. He shrugged and playfully nudged her with his elbow. "We all have our things."

She stood there for a moment, dumbfounded by his kindness. "I thought I irritated you." she said lamely. She internally rolled her eyes at herself. That was not something that needed to be said in that moment. He obviously is being nice to her now so what does saying that do besides make him feel awkward?

Grey's smile fell. "No, you don't irritate me. I don't even know you."

Christi nodded, not trusting herself to speak and possibly say something else that would disturb the moment. She stayed quiet and waited for him to retreat from her, but he didn't.

He stood there silently for a few minutes before taking a small breath. "I was not ready for a new member to walk in. It has nothing to do with you personally. We have been having a lot of problems recently, and some members have… left. And when someone new walks in…"

Christi finished his sentence, "It feels like they're being replaced."

He nodded slowly. Christi stood there silently as his hand continued to rub her arm rhythmically as if he didn't even realize he was still doing it. She didn't know how to comfort him, she wasn't used to having to comfort other people. She was sure he already knew she wasn't going to replace anyone so she didn't really need to say that out loud. But what was she supposed to say then?

She decided to change the subject. "Are you and Natsu close?" she asked him, hoping her question sounded more like a casual redirection of the conversation, rather than an overly curious inquiry about a person she was almost obsessively interested in knowing more about.

Grey's mood lightened dramatically. His smile returned, but by pulling him out of his daze he seemed to realize he was still rubbing her arm. He pulled it back and Christi had to force herself to keep from frowning. She wasn't used to human contact, and usually when people touched her it made her uncomfortable, but his touch was very comforting. Christi followed him as he began to walk down a path away from the guild.

"Natsu is a complete idiot who has little self control and even less common sense," he said as he walked. His tone lightened with affection as he finished, "but he's the most loyal person I have ever met. I would do anything for him, as he would for me. Natsu is my brother. I love him to death."

Christi smiled. Natsu was a good person. That made her heart warm. Being a dragon slayer seemed to imply a ferocity that was almost inhuman, yet Grey saw him as a good, loyal person.

Christi casually asked about the other members of the guild and Grey gradually became more and more open, until she felt like he saw her as an actual acquaintance. He told her stories about his adventures with the group he went on quests with, Natsu, Erza, Lucy, and the Exceed, Happy. They were all very amusing and Christi couldn't help but laugh as he told her especially funny stories about Natsu's motion sickness and his inability to even speak when he was in a vehicle. She vaguely wondered why he had that issue, if it was personal or an attribute to dragon slayers only.

She pondered this as she announced, "I have never been on a vehicle. They sound fun."

Grey's eyes were wide with shock. "Never?"

Christi shook her head, thinking about what a vehicle must be like. To be able to travel so fast, so smooth. It sounded incredible.

"I'll take you on one sometime." He promised and Christi flushed. She hoped he would live up to that promise, partly because she wanted to travel in a vehicle, but mainly she was just excited that he was entertaining the idea of hanging out with her again. She liked his company.

Grey led to her to a secluded area, surrounded by trees. The forest was beautiful. The trees were lush and green and the wind swayed the branches methodically. Grey sat down gracefully against the trunk of a tree, and Christi followed suit against the tree that sat directly across from him. She didn't ask him where they were or why they were there. She just closed her eyes, leaned her head against the trunk, and sat in the comfortable silence.

Christi opened her eyes at the sound of rustling and a familiar scent flooding her nose. When she looked up, though, she saw Grey staring at her intensely. Christi immediately averted her eyes. She hated such intense attention. She felt like people could see all her darkest secrets if they stared long enough. "What?" she asked, not unkindly.

"Nothing." he replied quickly and cleared his throat. "I was, uh, just wondering more about you. You haven't said much about yourself."

She restrained herself from grimacing. "What would I say?"

"I don't know. Where you're from? Why you chose Fairy Tail of all guilds?"

She pretended to ponder his questions, already knowing she wasn't going to answer either. She could not tell him where she was from, she could not tell anyone. And if she told him she came to Fairy Tail to be around the dragon slayers he would probably find that suspicious.

She waited a few beats, studying the area around her before changing the subject, "Why did you choose this spot?" She asked him.

He frowned, but still replied, "I used to come here when I missed my family. When all of _that,"_ he waved his hand in the general direction of Fairy Tail, "became too much, I escaped here. It's quiet and peaceful and no one has ever bothered me. You seemed like you needed that."

She nodded. "I did. It's very nice."

She tried to think of something else to say before he could ask her his questions again. Before she could open her mouth to ask anything, though, a loud grunt erupted from her side.

Christi jumped up immediately. Her arms flew upwards in front of her, ready to preform magic and defend herself. Her heart slammed in her chest, the worst case scenario of _him_ being here immediately took over her mind. She tried to think of ways she could save Grey's life from him, but she knew she couldn't beat him. She began pulling forth magic to prepare herself before she saw a tuft of bright pink hair.

Her body slouched against the tree trunk as the tension in her body dissipated. She took a deep breath, wishing she could throw something at Natsu for terrifying her like that.

 _What's wrong!_ Jett's voice erupted in her mind. She winced away from his loud thoughts.

 _Nothing,_ she replied. _Natsu jumped out of the woods and it scared me._

 _The woods? What are you doing in the woods? Were you alone? I'm still canvassing the area how do you know it's safe?_ Jett's worried thoughts dragged on in her mind, his ton accusatory.

 _I wasn't alone. I was with Grey, a powerful wizard, and now Im with Grey and Natsu. I'm fine._

She wanted to pull away before he could say anything else, but she knew how angry he would get if she cut him out again, so instead she just let his voice ramble on in her mind as she zoned it out and focused on Natsu.

He was standing in front of her, his brilliant grin wide on his face, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly with his breaths. "Go talk to Erza, she wants to update you on the quest were going on tomorrow." he said then directed his attention to Christi and smiled at her, "I'll take over your tour duties."

Grey stood up slowly, the frown he had on his face when Christi had first met him had return. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at Natsu. "Why? Can't it wait?"

"No. Whats the problem?" A blue cat jumped out from behind Natsu and pointed its fingers at Grey. Christi balked at the Exceed. She knew the Exceeds in Fairy Tail were different than Jett, but he was so _tiny._ "You lo-o-o-ve her!" The Exceed shouted.

Grey's face flushed. "Shut up. I was trying to be polite, but whatever." He snapped. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stalked past Christi. "I'll see you later." he mumbled to her as he shoved past Natsu and the Exceed and into the woods. Christi felt a twinge of disappointment in her chest as his silhouette disappeared into the trees.


End file.
